The bodies were discovered with their hands and feet tied in a room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay, a popular resort city south of the nation’s capital on Thursday.

The victims have been named in media reports as David James Fisk, 57, and his wife Lucita Barquin Cortez, 55, a Philippine-born Australian citizen. A Filipina woman was also found dead.

A masked, hooded man carrying a sling bag had been seen on hotel security cameras walking out of the victims’ room a few hours before their bodies were discovered, Tagaytay police chief Charles Daven Capagcuan told the Associated Press.

Capagcuan said a motive for the killings is unknown and some valuables, including the victims’ phones, were not taken.

Investigators are interviewing witnesses and examining security cameras at the hotel.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the families of two Australians who died.

“We send our condolences to the families at this difficult time,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Tagaytay Mayor Abraham Tolentino said he was shocked by the incident and apologised to the families of the victims.

“We’re very sorry to our Australian friends,” he said.

“We will resolve this as soon as possible.”

The couple had flown from Sydney to Bali for a holiday then went to the Philippines on Monday to visit the woman’s two children, and decided to take a short break in Tagaytay before returning to Australia, a relative of the woman told AP.

The remains of David James Fisk would be flown back to Sydney and the two women would be buried in the Philippines, Tolentino said.

– AAP